Bizarre scam sees Norwegians burying gold in the forest

It sounds like something from the playbook of Parks and Recreation's Ron Swanson, but it's happening in Norway - people are being tricked into spending their savings on gold and then burying it in the open.

Finans Norge taken the step of issuing a warning to residents in the country after receiving reports from several customers who have been victims of fraud relating to supposed gold investments.

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Victims have claimed that they were encouraged to buy gold for large sums and then leave it in unusual places, including out in nature, for someone to come and collect it later, in what sounds very similar to courier fraud.

The suggestion being given to victims is that the gold will be stored until prices have risen.

According to the bank, the first cases were reported in the spring - since then, incidents have been reported in Oslo and nearby towns, as well as Bergen on Norway's west coast.

The issue is that once the gold has been left behind and someone else takes it, it is stolen - and unlike a digital transaction, stolen gold can be hard to trace and can be melted down to be turned into other items.

No value has been revealed as how how much gold has been stolen in this way.

"Be very skeptical if someone contacts you and asks you to buy gold or other valuables as an investment,", says Gry Nergård, Director of Anti-Fraud at Finans Norge. "Do not hand over valuables to strangers or leave them in places following instructions from others."

Banks across Norway have launched an anti-fraud awareness campaign called "NO WAY - you won't fool me", which encourages the public to pause before acting on unexpected financial requests, to question arrangements that seem unusual, and to check the details independently rather than rely on assurances made by the person making the offer.

Further reporting courtesy of the Economic Times

This article has been created for information purposes only and should not be considered financial advice.

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